1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for managing currency transactions, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for issuing and accepting self-authenticating scrip media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of the gaming industry. Much of the income derived from such games is collected at gaming devices like slot machines and video poker games.
Revenue from such gaming devices can be increased in one of two ways: by increasing the number of transactions or by increasing the average wager per transaction. The number of transactions can be most easily increased simply by increasing the number of available machines. However, increasing the number of gaming devices can be a costly enterprise.
In the past, most gaming machines used coins as a medium of exchange. The machine accepted the wager in coin, and if the player was successful, paid winnings immediately from coin stored in the machine itself. While effective, such coin machines are expensive to maintain. Since the money taken in by the gaming device generally exceeds jackpots paid out, the accumulated money (in coin) must be removed from each machine on a periodic basis. This collection can be difficult, because coins can be heavy and unwieldy.
Recent years have seen a movement away from coin-only machines and a proliferation of gaming machines that also accept currency as a medium of exchange. In fact, currently, 60% or more of gaming machines can accept wagers in currency. Although they represent an improvement from the coin machines of the past, currency-accepting gaming machines have proved to be no panacea. Currency acceptors do not obviate the need to pay out winnings in coin. For example, if the player cashes out with $25.50 remaining in the payout account, the gaming device can only issue winnings in coin (in this case, 104 quarters). Since players will often terminate play at such times, the coinage paid out generally exceeds wager coinage entered into the machine, and a cache of coin in the gaming device must be maintained and frequently replenished.
Systems have been developed that can issue and accept scrip as a substitute for paper currency or coin. One example of such a system is disclosed in PCT publication WO 98/59311, which describes a Cashless Peripheral Device for a Gaming System, which publication is incorporated by reference. Such systems usually require that each of the gaming devices be communicatively coupled to a central computer. Typically, when the user cashes out, a unique key is either generated within the gaming device and transmitted to the central computer for storage (where it can be later accessed by other gaming machines) or the key is generated in the central computer and transmitted to the gaming machine issuing the scrip. The unique key is used to encrypt the cashout value and other information recorded on the scrip before it is issued to the user.
Although the foregoing systems can have several advantages, they require typically expensive computer network capabilities that can represent a considerable cost barrier. Further, although such systems can be made reasonably secure, there is the very real possibility that a hacker, through access to the computer network, can compromise the security of the system.
What is needed is a system and method for cashless gaming that uses tamper-resistant scrip instead of computer network for authentication purposes. The present invention satisfies that need.
To address the requirements described above, the present invention discloses a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for dispensing pre-coded scrip.
The method comprises the steps of determining a cashout value in response to a cashout command, recording a visible manifestation representing information comprising the cashout value on a media, recording a magnetic manifestation representing the information on the media and dispensing the media from the first gaming machine.
In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a self-authenticating media usable in transferring credits from a first gaming machine to a second gaming machine. The media comprises a bottom surface, suitable for application of print media, a heat-sensitive top surface, suitable for manifesting printed media by a thermal printer, a re-recordable continuous magnetic media portion, embedded within the media between the bottom surface and the top surface, the magnetic media portion suitable for recording, playing back, and erasing a continuously variable magnetic field by a magnetic head, wherein the magnetic media portion is substantially undetectable by reflective optical sensors and substantially detectable by densometric optical sensors.
In another embodiment, the apparatus comprises a printing device for applying printed media to a heat sensitive top surface of the self-authentication media, a processor, communicatively coupled to the printing device and a memory, a magnetic head, and a magnetic media subsystem communicatively coupled to the processor and the magnetic head, the magnetic media subsystem selectable configurable to authenticate currency via magnetic ink printed on the currency and to read a magnetic manifestation representing information comprising a cashout value on a re-recordable continuous magnetic media portion embedded within the self-authenticating media.
This system relies on coupons or scrip cards that are inherently worthless and self-authenticating. These coupons are activated and dispensed to the user when a payout is requested, and permanently deactivated when they are re-inserted into a gaming device.